Pay close attention when victims of stalkers speak up

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The Borivli GRP have arrested a man who allegedly stalked and photographed a woman on a local train. According to the GRP, the 25-year-old woman, who commutes regularly between Santacruz and Jogeshwari, had noticed a man constantly following her and trying to photograph her.

Recently, when she arrived to board the train at Santacruz station, she saw him staring at her and was unnerved. So, she alighted at Goregaon station instead of Jogeshwari to check if he was following her.

The stalker did the same and chased her. He was caught after an alarm was raised. He has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

There are several things a victim did right. She altered her schedule to keep track of the stalker and raised an alarm that caught the attention of others, resulting in him being handed over to the police. Now, the cops have taken action and they say investigations are on. His cell phone has also been taken.

This edit space has highlighted several times the importance of taking stalking seriously. You cannot dismiss it as the actions of some loony who will eventually tire of following you. People also need to believe the victim when she (or he) says that there is somebody stalking them.

At times, the victim is not believed and is told that she may be reading too much into some incident, or this is just a figment of her imagination. Sometimes she is told she is making up things to get attention. It's time to pay close attention when there is a stalking complaint.

Accompany the target, and lodge a police complaint. Stalkers are emboldened if no action is taken. They also learn the pattern of the target and can harass them because they know routes and addresses. Jail terms for stalkers is the way ahead.